Pampa to host 'Veggie Tales' production

Seeing his animated alter ego come to life in all his 8-foot-tall glory was an “out-of-vegetable” experience for Mike Nawrocki.

Nawrocki helped create the computer-animated “Veggie Tales” series and voices one of the series’ stars, Larry the Cucumber.

Nawrocki said the challenge for the stage version was “how do we translate the characters that work so well on the small screen to the stage.”

The result is movable eyes and mouth for Larry and — just as on screen — no arms.

“Acting in those costumes is a challenge,” Nawrocki chuckled. “Hopefully, they don’t tip over.”

Seeing the first live Larry about 12 years ago took Nawrocki back to the series launch more than 18 years ago.

“Just to see that come to life made me remember back to that very first video, just to see these characters come to life on screen,” Nawrocki said.

The “Tales” began because Nawrocki and Phil Vischer “felt like there was a need for the type of show we hoped ‘Veggie Tales’ would be,” Nawrocki said.

“We felt the lack of stories with a lack of a biblical world view, that there is a God and he loves us, that was missing in so much of media and continues to be,” he said.

The series’ success came as a surprise.

“We had no idea it would explode like it did. In the early years, it was very word-of-mouth, just Phil and I and a couple of kids who had just graduated from art school.”

Now, 18 years later, the series has blossomed with 40 direct-to-video releases, two feature films and a 12-year-old stage show.

The latest version of the live show, “God Made You Special,” was created expressly for the stage, Nawrocki said.

“In the Silly Song Workshop, a silly song has gone missing, and there’s a frantic search to find it,” he said. “It’s a great showcase for a lot of the more popular songs from ‘Veggie Tales,’ with a lot of singing and dancing.”

Yes, even Bob the Tomato joins in, which Nawrocki loves.

“For me, the coolest thing is seeing the reaction of the kids seeing the characters that they’re in love with and friends with, to see them come out on stage, bigger than life. Their reaction is always a kick for me to see.”